Turn off Heating When Leaving House for Short Time?

andwalker

I am retired so at home most of the time and my heating from a combi boiler and radiators is on from 8am to 11pm.

Is it worthwhile turning off the heating if I am just nipping out to the shops for about half an hour?

I have noticed that some times, according to my smart meter, that no gas is used in some of the half hour segments but every time I get home and turn the heating back on it  uses slightly more gas before the thermostat turns the heating off, so it averages out that the same amount of gas is used per day whether I turn the heating off for half an hour or not.

Petriix

It's unlikely to make much difference over such a short timeframe, but it's a good habit to get into, just in case you're out for longer than you planned. The colder the house is the less heat it will lose to the outside world so the less total heating will be required. If you're out for long enough for the temperature inside to drop below your usual thermostat setpoint then you will start to save money by switching it off.